I went on holiday to Hungary, where they play dulcimers which are the ancestors of the Appalachian lap dulcimer. Apart from the fact that the Hungarian dulcimers have lots more strings (usually three on the first course, and the other three courses are always doubled), the Hungarians always play them on a substantial table, which improves the sound immensely over playing them on the lap. The sound of guitars can improve by such contact, too - when Mario Maccaferri broke his hand and had to make his living in theatres, he played the guitars on substantial stands. My experience of kits is that you get what you buy and make the best you can of it. Don't expect an amazing product if the kit is plywood, or if your handicraft skills have never been beyond changing lightbulbs. On the other hand, I've seen some very good guitars produced from nightclasses - which are effectively kits with expert help.